The Sage
by Sings-off-key
Summary: NWN2 OC...could there be a little romance stirring in the Crossroad Keep library?


The Sage

I was a bit surprised when the sage approached me. Aldanon, that was his name. You rarely saw him out of the keep, or even out of his library, but here he was up on the wall where I was keeping watch.

"Sergeant Bevil," he said, and then stopped, as if struggling for words. I didn't think he even knew who I was, and here he was seeking me out. Strange.

"Sir?"

"I, er, understand you have known our Knight Captain for some time now."

"Lina? Gods, yes, we grew up together in West Harbor. She was over at our house all the time. Especially at dinner time," I said and laughed. "My mom is the best cook in West Harbor, and her dad, pshew. I went hunting with them once and he cooked swamp beetle soup. Swamp beetle soup!"

"Possibly a high nutritional content," Aldanon said vaguely.

"Lina said it was actually quite tasty once you got used to the way it slid down your throat, but _gods_." I shuddered.

"I understand her father is the ranger Daeghun?"

"That's right." Aldanon's brows were raised in a question. "He's actually her foster father, you know. I mean, he is an elf and she is a human, so I guess you figured that out."

"I gathered the biological connection was tenuous," he murmured.

"Her mom was killed when the King of Shadows attacked West Harbor. I don't know anything about her dad, maybe he was killed too. Daeghun has always taken care of her."

"So she has no other living relatives?"

"Not that I ever heard tell," I said. Aldanon nodded courteously to me and wandered back off towards the keep.

I stared off after him.

Later I saw the two of them talking. I couldn't hear anything from my post on the wall, but I could see their faces. Aldanon had an earnest expression, and as he spoke, Daeghun looked startled and then a bit grim. _What in the hells was that about_, I wondered.

I started watching the sage after that. I mean, I was used to guys asking me about Lina. First off, she was just so darned pretty, and she has this way of looking at you when you talk that makes you think you must be the most interesting guy in the realms. And when she sang, well, she had a voice that could lift you up to the heavens. That paladin Casavir could scarcely take his eyes off her and even that scruffy ranger Bishop would watch her when he thought no one was noticing. But Aldanon? He was old enough to be her father, hells, her grandfather even. Surely…no. No way. He must be doing some kind of research or something.

And it did seem that they spent a lot of time in the library together. I'd see their heads bent together over some dusty old tome, her hair as black and glossy as a raven's wing and his so white and shaggy like an unkempt pony. And they'd laugh. I couldn't even imagine what could be so funny in those old books. Sometimes she would be scratching away furiously with her quill while he talked, and they would laugh and laugh.

"What's with you and that squirrelly old gent?" I asked her once.

"Squirrelly old…do you mean Aldanon?"

"Yes, Aldanon. I see you two talking all the time. What's going on?"

"Oh, Bevil, he's amazing. He knows everyone, Elminster, Drizzt, Nasher, you name it. He even knew Lady Aribeth and Fenthick. He gets letters from all over the realms, from all these great wizards and heroes—they hold him in such respect. His memory is phenomenal and the stories he can tell…"

"You always were a sucker for a story."

"I am a _bard_, Bevil."

"So that's what's going on with you two? He's telling you stories?"

"Yes, of course," she said. But she looked away from me when she said it and her face got a little pink.

I wasn't sure what to think.

That very evening, I saw them in the tavern together. Lina had her lute and I know I'm not the only one who was hoping for a song or two. She and Aldanon seemed to be bickering about something. Lina would pick out a few notes, and then Aldanon would shake his head, and she would try again. Finally she grinned and passed the lute over to him.

Now that made me pause right there. Lina didn't let _anyone _touch her lute, but here she was handing it right over to this nutty old sage, and by the gods, Aldanon began to play. He wasn't half bad, either.

Then, and may Tyr strike me if I lie, he started to sing. His voice rang out in a surprisingly strong tenor for a guy his age, and he belted out a song—a love song, no less—to the entire bar without the slightest trace of embarrassment or self-consciousness. Well, I couldn't have done it, that's all I've got to say. Lina, bless her, came in on the chorus, and the way their voices joined together…beautiful, just beautiful.

"Shut your trap before something flies in," Bishop said in my ear, in his usual pleasant and courteous manner. I shut my mouth.

"Didn't know Aldanon could play the lute," I said.

"That's not the only thing he's playing."

"Huh?"

"Are you blind or just stupid? He's pressing her leg under the table." The ranger stalked out of the bar.

Bishop is crazy. Everyone knows that. But was he right? I looked at the two and I couldn't tell. Surely an old guy like that wouldn't be interested in that sort of thing. Would he? And even if he were, well, there was Lina, sitting right there, and she didn't have that huffy look she got if a guy tried to go too far. Lina didn't put up with much. She once dislocated Wyl Mossfeld's shoulder when he got a little fresh with her at a dance. She didn't look huffy at all. In fact, she was leaning towards Aldanon and they were smiling at each other. It would be just like Bishop to think everyone else was doing what he himself was thinking about doing.

Later that night, I saw the two of them up on the wall. The moon was bright and she and Aldanon were holding hands. Score one for the crazy ranger.

I just don't understand women. That's all I've got to say.


End file.
